Transfer press

ABSTRACT

A transfer press is provided in which a bed ( 2 ), a crown ( 3 ) and a slide ( 4 ) are divided into sections for respective working stations (W 1 , W 2 , - - - ) and the respective divided sections are fabricated into a module as a set of press unit, and in such transfer press, a plurality of uprights ( 5 ) are disposed between the respective bed sections and crown sections, the bed sections and the crown sections are coupled and fastened by means of tie rods ( 6 ) inserted into the uprights, and reinforcing means ( 10 ) are disposed to the uprights at positions higher than a lower dead point of the slide sections for coupling adjacent uprights together.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a transfer press having an improvedrigidity in a horizontal direction thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

A conventional transfer press is provided with a press body into which aplurality of working stations are arranged, in which workpieces aresubsequently transferred from an upstream side of the working stationstowards a downstream side thereof during which the workpieces are workedat the respective working stations.

Japanese Patent Laid-open (KOKAI) Publication No. HEI 8-52597 disclosesa transfer press in which a bed, a crown, a slide and the like, whichconstitute a press body, are divided into sections for the respectiveworking stations, and these divided ones are fabricated into a module asone set of press unit for each of the working stations.

The conventional transfer press of the structure, for example, mentionedin the above publication is assembled at an installation site afterpreliminarily manufacturing the respective bed sections, crown sectionsand slide sections in the divided states in a manufacturing factory andconveying them to the installation site, so that it is advantageous thatthese divided sections can be conveyed with no specific limit in theconveyance even if a large-sized transfer press is installed.

However, in the conventional transfer press disclosed in the abovepublication, since it is fabricated into a module in each of the workingstations, it is necessary to provide uprights for supporting the crownsection in each of the working stations. For this reason, when a widthof the upright is made large for ensuring the strength thereof, it isobliged to make large a pitch between adjacent two working stationsbecause of the following reason.

That is, the conventional transfer press is provided with a movingbolster, capable of being freely inserted into or drawn out of the pressbody, for easy exchanging of a mold, and in the transfer press which isfabricated into a module in each of the working stations, such movingbolsters are provided for the respective working stations. Such movingbolsters are passed through a space between adjacent uprights when themoving bolsters are inserted into or drawn out of the press body.

Because of the reason mentioned above, it is necessary to keep the spacebetween the respective uprights sufficient for the moving bolsters to beinserted or drawn out, and accordingly, if the uprights each having alarge width are used, the pitch between the adjacent working stationsprovided with the moving bolsters is inevitably made large. However, inthe case where the pitches between the respective working stations aremade large, all processes in the working stations are also elongated andthe entire length of the press body will be also made large, resultingin a provision of a large-sized press body which requires muchmanufacturing cost, thus being inconvenient and disadvantageous.

In order to obviate such defect, in the conventional transfer press,which is fabricated into a module at the respective working stations, itis attempted to reduce the pitch between the adjacent working stationsand, hence, to make short the entire length of the press body.

In the conventional transfer press, however, if the width of the uprightis made small, the rigidity of the press body in the horizontaldirection is accordingly reduced, which may cause a swing in thehorizontal direction during the working and it is difficult to expect aprecise press molding of the transfer press.

The present invention was conceived to solve or improve the problems ordefects of the conventional transfer press mentioned above and toprovide a transfer press capable of improving the rigidity in thehorizontal direction thereof and performing a press molding with a highprecision.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a transfer press, in which a bed, a crownand a slide are divided into sections for respective working stationsand the respective divided sections are fabricated into a module as aset of press unit, wherein a plurality of uprights are disposed betweenthe respective bed sections and crown sections, the bed sections and thecrown sections are coupled and fastened by means of tie rods insertedinto the uprights, and reinforcing means are disposed to the uprights atpositions higher than a lower dead point of the slide sections forcoupling adjacent uprights together.

To achieve the above object, according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, there is provided a transfer press in which a crownis mounted between upper end portions of a plurality of uprightsstanding upward from a bed, and the crown and the bed are fastened bytie rods inserted into the uprights, wherein a reinforcing means isdisposed to the uprights at a position higher than a lower dead point ofa slide for coupling adjacent uprights together.

According to the structures mentioned above, since the rigidity of thepress body in the horizontal direction is remarkably improved, the pressbody is never swung in the horizontal direction during the working,thereby a press molding with high precision is performed.

Furthermore, since the horizontal direction rigidity of the press bodycan be increased without increasing the width of the upright, it is notnecessary to make large the pitch of the working station, thus reducingthe entire length of the press body, whereby the press body can be madesmall in size which results in the reduction of the installation spaceand cost.

In the above structures, it is preferred that a divided crown section ofa press unit provided for a first working station and a divided crownsection of a press unit provided for a second working station arecoupled together by means of a coupling member.

According to this structure, in a case where the press unit for thefirst working station is separated from the press units of the secondand succeeding working stations, the divided crown section of a pressunit provided for the first working station and the divided crownsections of the press units provided for the second and succeedingworking stations are firmly coupled together by means of the couplingmembers, so that the rigidity of the entire press body in the horizontaldirection can be improved, and also, since the horizontal directionrigidity of the press unit for the first working station can beimproved, the working precision in the first working station can be alsoimproved.

Furthermore, in the above structure, it is preferred to arrange thecoupling members substantially in parallel to a workpiece conveyingdirection.

According to this structure, the oscillation caused in a horizontaldirection in the press unit for the first working station can beeffectively transferred to the press units for the second and succeedingworking stations through the coupling members, so that the horizontaldirection oscillation caused in the first working station can beeffectively reduced.

Furthermore, in the above structure, it is preferred to provide adamping function to the coupling member.

According to this structure, the horizontal direction oscillation andvibration generated in the press unit for the first working station isreduced by the damping function of the coupling members and reducedlytransmitted to the press units for the second and succeeding workingstations, so that the horizontal direction oscillation and vibrationgenerated in the press unit for the first working station do not give anadverse influence to the second and succeeding working stations, andalso, the horizontal direction oscillation and vibration generated inthe press units for the second and succeeding working stations do notgive an adverse influence to the first working station.

Furthermore, in the above structure, it is preferred to provide a covermember above the reinforcing means.

According to this structure, noise caused by the slide driving mechanismis not diffused therearound, so that the noise can be reduced, andmoreover, since the slide driving mechanism is not exposed outside, anouter appearance of the transfer press can be improved.

Still furthermore, in the above structure, it is preferred to fix thereinforcing means to the uprights by fixing means after corner portionsof the reinforcing means are positioned by at least one knock pin and aplurality of eccentric pins.

According to this structure, the reinforcing means can be fixed to theuprights firmly and precisely, so that the horizontal direction rigiditycan be further improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more understandable from the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings representing embodimentsof the present Invention. Further, it is to be noted that theembodiments shown in the accompanying drawings do not intend to specifythe invention and merely intend to make easy the understanding of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire structure of a transferpress according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of one portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion III encircled in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV—IV in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view in an enlarged scale of a portion near aconnecting portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

PREFERRED MODE FOR EMBODYING THE INVENTION

The present invention will be described in detail hereunder withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire structure of a transferpress according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is afront view of one portion of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 isan enlarged view of a portion III encircled in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is asectional view taken along the line IV—IV in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is afront view in an enlarged scale of a portion near a connecting portionof the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a press body, whichcomprises a plurality of working stations, and a bed 2, a crown 3 and aslide 4 are divided into a plurality of sections for respective workingstations W1, W2, - - - . Each bed section, each crown section and eachslide section are assembled and fabricated into a module as one set of apress unit for each working station.

A press unit 1 ₁ located at the most upstream side working station W1 isone for performing a drawing fabrication. In this press unit 1 ₁, adivided crown section 3 ₁ is supported between the upper end portions ofthe four uprights 5 standing upward from four corner portions of adivided bed section 2 ₁, and the crown section 3 ₁ and the bed section 2₁ are connected and fastened together by means of tie rods 6 insertedinto the uprights 5.

A slide drive mechanism, not shown, is disposed within the crown section3 ₁ so that a divided slide section 4 ₁ disposed below the crown section3 ₁ is driven vertically by this slide drive mechanism.

Further, press units 1 ₂, 1 ₃ and 1 ₄ positioned to the working stationsW2, W3 and W4 are provided with divided bed sections 2 ₂, 2 ₃ and 2 ₄for the respective working stations W2, W3 and W4, and these bedsections 2 ₂, 2 ₃ and 2 ₄ are firmly coupled integrally with the bedsection 2 ₁ of the press unit 1 ₁ by coupling means, not shown.

Uprights 5 each having a small width stand upward from four cornerportions of the respective bed sections 2 ₂, 2 ₃ and 2 ₄, and dividedcrown sections 3 ₂ , 3 ₃ and 3 ₄ are supported respectively betweenupper end portions of the uprights 5, the crown sections 3 ₂, 3 ₃ and 3₄ being firmly coupled integrally with each other by coupling means, notshown.

The respective bed sections 2 ₂, 2 ₃ and 2 ₄, and the respective crownsections 3 ₂, 3 ₃ and 3 ₄ are coupled and fastened with each other bymeans of tie rods 6 inserted into the respective uprights 5. Slide drivemechanisms, not shown, are disposed within the respective crown sections3 ₂, 3 ₃ and 3 ₄ so that divided slide sections 4 ₂, 4 ₃ and 4 ₄disposed below the crown sections 3 ₂, 3 ₃ and 3 ₄ are driven verticallyby these slide drive mechanisms, respectively.

Furthermore, the crown section 3 ₁ of the press unit 1 ₁ for the firstworking station W1 and the crown section 3 ₂ of the press unit 1 ₂ forthe second working station W2 are positioned apart from each other inthe front and rear direction and firmly coupled together by means of apair of coupling members 8 extending substantially in parallel to aworkpiece conveying direction X.

As shown in FIG. 5, the coupling members 8 are formed of steel pipes,for example, having both ends to which flanges 8 a are welded, theflanges 8 a being fastened to opposing surfaces of the correspondingcrown sections 3 ₁ and 3 ₂ by fastening means 9 such as bolts.

The adjacent uprights 5, 5 (which are arranged in parallel to theworkpiece transferring direction X) are coupled together by reinforcingmeans 10 provided for the press units 1 ₁, 1 ₂, 1 ₃ and 1 ₄.

The reinforcing means 10 has a function to increasing a rigidity in thehorizontal direction (workpiece transferring direction) of the entirestructure of the press body 1 by mutually coupling the lateral uprights5, 5 in the respective press units 1 ₁, 1 ₂, 1 ₃ and 1 ₄. Thereinforcing means 10 is composed of, for example, a steel plate and therespective reinforcing means 10 are disposed above lower dead positionsof the slides 4 ₁, 4 ₂, 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ so as not to abstract the chargingof a mold when the mold is exchanged in the following manner.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, attachment holes 10 a are perforated tofour corner portions of each of the reinforcing means 10, in which, forexample, a left lower hole is formed as a positioning hole 10 a intowhich a knock pin 11 is inserted.

To the other three holes 10 a, eccentric pins 12 will be inserted, whenthese holes are shifted from attachment holes 5 a perforated on the sideof the uprights 5, 5.

After the insertion of the pins 11 and 12 into the attachment holes 10a, respectively, the reinforcing means 10 are firmly fixed to theuprights 5, 5 by means of fixing members 13 disposed near the knock pins11 and eccentric pins 12.

Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a cover member providedto the upper portion of each of the reinforcing means 10, and the covermembers 15 are fixed to the adjacent uprights 5, 5 by fastening means16. Reference character I denotes an idle station.

The function of the present invention of the structure mentioned abovewill be described hereunder.

The bed 2, the crown 3 and the slide 4, each divided into sections foreach press unit 1 ₁, 1 ₂, - - - , preliminarily manufactured at amanufacturing factory are conveyed to an installation site. Thesestructural members are firmly assembled integrally by the coupling meansat the installation site, so that the bed 2, the crown 3 and the slide 4for the large sized transfer press can be easily conveyed to theinstallation site in the divided state.

At the installation site, the bed (bed sections) 2 is first assembledand the uprights 5, 5 are then secured so as to stand upward. Next, theslide (slide sections) 4 are disposed between the respective uprights 5,5 and, then, the crown (crown sections) 3 is mounted between the upperends of the uprights 5, 5. The respective crown sections 3 ₂, 3 ₃ and 3₄ are firmly coupled integrally with each other by the coupling means.Thereafter, the crown section 3 ₁ in the first working station W1 andthe crown section 3 ₂ in the second working station W2 are firmlycoupled by the coupling member 8.

After the completion of the assembling of the press body 1 by the mannermentioned above, the reinforcing means 10 are positioned between theadjacent uprights 5, 5 of the respective press units 1 ₁, 1 ₂, 1 ₃ and 1₄ and then firmly fixed thereto by the fixing means 13. Under thisstate, the reinforcing means 10 have a plate-like structure whichfunction as brace members, and accordingly, the rigidity of the pressbody 1 in the horizontal direction can be remarkably improved to therebysubstantially prevent the horizontal swing from causing during theoperation of the transfer press.

It is to be noted that the assembling order of the press body 1 is notlimited to the order mentioned above.

Further, the coupling members 8 for coupling the crown sections 3 ₁ and3 ₂ of the press unit 1 ₁ and 1 ₂ for the first and second workingstations W1 and W2 has a structure having a damping function(oscillation preventing function), and according to the dampingfunction, the horizontal oscillation or vibration caused at the firstworking station W1 is reducedly transmitted to the press units 1₂, - - - of the second and succeeding working stations W2, - - - and,also, the horizontal oscillation and vibration caused at the second andsucceeding working stations are reducedly transferred to the press unit1 ₁ of the first working stations W1, thus effectively preventingadverse influence due to the horizontal oscillation and vibration fromcausing.

In the embodiment of the present invention mentioned above, althoughthere is described the transfer press which is constructed by firstdividing the bed 2, the crown 3 and the slide 4 into a plurality ofsections for the respective working stations W1, W2, - - - and thenassembling them to each press unit as a module, the present invention isnot limited to such assembling manner, and in a case where the presentinvention is applied to a general transfer press in which the bed 2, thecrown 3, and to reduce the entire length of the press body 1, the slide4 are integrated and the pitches of the respective working stations aremade small and the width of each upright is reduced, the rigidity in thehorizontal direction may be improved, and moreover, since the horizontaloscillation can be made small during the operation, the workingprecision can be improved.

Further, it is a matter that is self-evident to a person skilled in theart that although the present invention is described hereinbefore withreference to the exemplary embodiments, it is possible to make variouschanges, deletions and additions to the disclosed embodiment withoutdeparting from the subject and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention is notlimited to the described embodiments and includes scopes or itsequivalent scope defined by the elements recited in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transfer press comprising a bed, a crown and aslide, said bed, crown and slide being divided into sections forrespective working stations and the respective divided sections beingfabricated into a module as a set of a press unit; a plurality ofuprights are disposed between the respective bed sections and crownsections; said bed section and said crown sections being coupled andfastened by means of tie rods inserted into the uprights; and means forreinforcing said transfer press in a workpiece transferring direction,said reinforcing means comprising a plurality of reinforcing meansdisposed so that each of the reinforcing means connects two adjacentuprights of a press unit at a position higher than a lower dead point ofthe slide section for coupling the adjacent uprights.
 2. A transferpress according to claim 1, wherein a divided crown section of a pressunit provided for a first working station and a divided crown section ofa press unit provided for a second working station are coupled togetherby means of a coupling member.
 3. A transfer press according to claim 2,wherein said coupling member is arranged so as to be substantiallyparallel to a workpiece conveying direction.
 4. A transfer pressaccording to claim 2 or 3, wherein said coupling member is provided witha damping function.
 5. A transfer press according to claim 1, wherein acover member is disposed above said reinforcing means.
 6. A transferpress according to claim 1, wherein said reinforcing means is fixed tosaid uprights by fixing means after corner portions of the reinforcingmeans are positioned by at least one knock pin and a plurality ofeccentric pins.